MANILA, Philippines – It took quite some time, but Frankie Lim finally earned his first win as the NLEX Road Warriors’ head coach.

Lim heaved a huge sigh of relief as NLEX got back on track in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup with a 110-101 triumph against no less than powerhouse TNT on Wednesday, October 19.

“It means a lot, it means a lot to us, especially after two losses. I was thinking to myself, when will be my first win?” Lim said in a mix of Filipino and English.

Starting his Road Warriors stint with back-to-back defeats to Phoenix and Magnolia, Lim feared their skid would continue as their next two games pitted them against TNT and San Miguel – the finalists of the Philippine Cup.

But import Earl Clark and veteran guard Kevin Alas came to the rescue to deliver Lim his breakthrough victory at the helm.

Clark erupted for a career-high 45 points to go with 16 rebounds and 4 blocks, while Kevin Alas came off the bench and fired 24 points, 11 coming in the decisive fourth quarter.

“Very frustrating,” said Lim when asked about his inauspicious start with NLEX, which began with him serving a one-game suspension for hitting Calvin Abueva seven years ago when he still coached Barangay Ginebra.

The game Lim sat out ended with the Road Warriors beating Blackwater for a 2-0 record.

“I wondered, when will I get my first win? And it happened tonight. Just very happy. Very happy for the franchise,” Lim said.

Although he already got the proverbial monkey off his back, Lim said NLEX is far from the team he envisioned since he joined the squad following the surprising exit of former Road Warriors head coach Yeng Guiao.

“The things we try to do with the team is just temporary,” Lim said. “But if you’re talking about the whole system, we have a long way to go.”

Now toting a 3-2 record, NLEX looks to make it two wins in a row with Lim when it faces San Miguel on Sunday, October 23, at the Mall of Asia Arena. – Rappler.com